Means for actuating the door locks of motorcars



J. H. ORR 2,661,976

MEANS FOR ACTUATING THE DOOR LOCKS 0F MOTORCARS Dec. 8, 1953 Filed Dec.

H M m W Uu u w J ing a hand-hold by plunger and top of the provided soas Patented Dec. 8, 1953 MEANS FOR AGTUATING THE noon LOCK F MoroRcARsJohn H. Orr,

bodies Application December The door locks of many modern motor-cars arearranged to be actuated by a push-button on the outer side of the door,there being a loop handle, or some equivalent hand-grip by which thedoor, when the latch has been released, can be pulled open. The objectof the invention is to provide a means of operating the latch mechanismwhereby a loop-handle, or other projecting hand-grip can be dispensedwith, thus improving the appearance of the car and'minimisingexcrescences on its outer surface.

According to the invention, the latch mechanism, for a motor-car doorhaving a waist rail, is connected to be operated from a member which,when the latch is shot, is substantially continuous with the uppersurface of the waist rail and'which, for retracting the latch, ismanually'depressible, against a biassing means, into ahousing within thewaist rail, an edge of the housing, when the member is depressed,providcan be opened.

Conveniently the said operating member is a plunger which is rectangularin plan and is recessed into a housing in the topofthe waist rail, theplunger being for acting on the top of a substantially-verticallyreciprocablethrust member operatively connected to the latch mechanism.The biassing means for holding the plunger to be flush with the waistrail can either be a spring of the lock mechanism or an additionalspring reacting between the bottom of the recessand the under surface ofthe plunger.

Alternatively the operating member could be hinged (e. g., at its outeredge) to the waist rail and have the side opposite the hinge for actingon the thrust member.

Whilst not limited in this respect, the operating means of the inventionis particularly adapted for operating a car door latch mechanism ofCoventry, England, assignor to Car- Limited, Coventry, England 1, 1950,Serial No. 198,638

4 Claims. (01. 292-3363) ,7 latch actuating mechanismaccording to'theintheuse of which the door the latch mechanism the kind accordingtospecification Serial No.

200,159, filed December 11, 1950.

Obviously a key-operated, or other suitable lock could be arranged toprevent unauthorised opening of the door, the lock, for example, beingfor coaction with the thrust member.

When installing the actuating means in a motor-car door, it is desirableto avoid the necessity for positioning the latch-operating member (whichis fast with the door) extremely accurately with respect to theremaining portions of the latch mechanism. Also, when the latchoperatingmember is a plunger, and a coacting thrust member which is connected tothe latch mechanism has a swinging movement in operation, relativelateral movement between, the thrust member must be to avoid binding ofthe'plunger in its housing.

:According to a operating member further feature, therefore, the

through means permitting of their relative lateral displacement from theline of thrust.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portion of amotor-car door provided with one form of vention Figure 2 is across-section, on the line 2--2 of Figure 1 and drawn to a larger scale;

Figure 3 is a cross-section on the line 3-3 of I Figure 2; and

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3, but showing a modifiedconstruction.

Referring to the drawings the motor-car door I I has, in the waist railportion l2, a rectangular recess [3 beneath which is secured, as bywelding, a housing 14 of corresponding cross-section. Within the housingisa plunger i5 having, in two opposite faces, blind grooves [6 which areengaged by pins ll fast with the housing for limiting the movement ofthe plunger. So that the" plunger can move freely within the housing theformer canbe provided with spring-pressed anti-friction balls l8 makingrolling contact with the inner wall of the housing. p

Within thefree edge IQ of the door is mortised the casing 20 of alatchmechanism, a, projecting operative end 2i of I the latch lever extendingthrough a slot 22 of the casing.

The plungeris for operating, through a thrust members, for raising theprotruding end 2| of the latch. f In Figure 3 the thrust member is shownprovided with a laterally extending platform 24 at the head, theplatform having secured thereto on each side of the line of thrust aball-cup 25. The plunger has fast therewith two depending stems 26 withcoacting ball-cups 21 at the feet. An anti-friction ball 28 is enclosedbetween each pair of cups 25, 21, and the depths ofthe cups (whichlatter have flat bottoms) is such that the balls 28 keep them out ofcontact with each other, the internal diameters of the cups beingconsiderably greater than the diameter of the balls.

,The platform and plunger can be interconnected by a tension spring, notshown, but that acts on the thrust inemberi would not be necessarythrust member is spring-biassedin the upward direction. Itwillbe seenthat, due to the balls 28, the plunger could effectively operate thethrust member 23 when in a variety of laterally displaced relativepositions, thus avoiding any necessity for those two parts to beaccurately aligned duringass'embling of the latch mechanism to the door.

In the construction of Figure 4, which is simpler than that of Figure 3,the plunger is interconnected with the platform 24a, by a pair of rubberthrust stems 26a of which the ends are suitably anchored to the twoparts. Thusthe I5, on being manually depressed in instances where theupper ends of the stems'can be bonded in bores 29 in the plunger, andthe lower ends can be,

bonded in brackets 3!! suitably secured to the platform 24a.

When it is desired to open the car door frommatically engaging the outeredge 3| of .the liecess disclosed, enables the door to be pulled opendirectly.

What I claim as my invention and desire to' secure by Letters Patent ofthe United States is: 1. Operating means, for a latch mechanism of amotor-car door having a waist rail, com- 1 prising an operating plungerwithin an opening in the waist rail, an open-ended housing fast withsaid waist rail and; having one open end registering with said opening,said housingbeing for said, plunger, means acting between said housingand plunger for limiting movement of the. latter. from a position inwhich the plunger head is substantially continuous with the waist railwhen the latch-bolt is in latched position, to a depressed positioninwardly of, the adjacent open end of saidhousing; a reciprocable memberadjacent and substantially aligned with the other open end of saidhousing and-operatively connectedtosaid lat'chmechanism, twolaterallyspaced pairs. of facing cups. with fiat internal bottomssecured in juxtaposition to saidplunger, and member, and a. thrust. ballof less diameter than said bottoms interposedbetweenthe. facing cups ofeach pair and separating the rims. thereof-whereby said member can be.moved. byv a full depression ofsaid plunger to. move said latch-bolt toa non-latched position, an edge of saidopening when said plunger'is.thus depressed providing a hand-hold by: the use of which the. doorcanbe opened, and said thrustballs by being movable laterally in theircoacting cups. permit:- tingrelative lateral deviation of said plungerand member from the line ofthrust.

2; Operating-means; foralatch. mechanism of a motor-ear door having awaist rail, com-. prising an operating member housed-in an opening inthe waist rail and having its head substantially' continuous therewithin the latched position of: the latch-bolt, areciprocable memberoperatively connected to said latch-mechanism and substantially alignedwith saidoperating member, a laterally-extending platform fast with thatend of said reciprocable member which is adjacentsaidoperatingmember, apair of" parallel"thrust transmitting "means extending between saidoperating member and said platform, saidthrust-transmitting means-actingon saidplat'form with their lines ofthrust'substam tially 'parallelly onopposite sides of the, line-of thrust of 'saidreciprocablememberwhereby, when said operating member is depressed in its housing,said thrustetransmitting means deliver a balanced thrust to saidreciprocable member to move said latch-bolt to the non-latched'position,an. edge of said opening when said' operating member is thus depressedproviding-fa hand-hold by the use of which the doorcan be opened, andthe opposite ends of said thrusttransmitting means being relativelylaterallydisplaceable to compensate for any relative lateral deviationof said operating and reciprocable member from the line of thrust,

3,. Operating means, fora latchmechanism ofja motor-car door havingawaist rail, comprising an operating plunger within an opening in thewaist 4 .1 rail, an open-ended housing fast with said waist rail andhaving one open end registering with said opening, said housing beingfor aid plunger, means acting between said housing and plunger forlimiting movement of the latter from a position in which the plungerhead is substantially continuous with the waist rail when the latchboltis in latched position, to a depressed position inwardly of said oneopen end of said housing, a reciprocable member operatively connected tosaid latch mechanism and substantially aligned with the other open endof said housing, a laterally extending platform fast with that end ofsaid reciprocable member which is adjacent said plunger, a pair ofparallel thrust-transmitting means extending betweensaidplunger and saidplatform, said thrust-transmitting means acting on said platform ..withtheir lines of thrust substantially parallelly on opposite sides of theline of thrustof said reciprocable member whereby, when said plungeris.depressed. in. its housing, said thrust-transmitting. means deliver a.balancedthrust to. saidreciprocable. member to move said latch-bolt tothe. nondatched. position, an edge of said opening" when said. plungeris thus depressed-providing a hand-hold by the use of which the doorcanbe. opened, and the opposite ends of said thrust-transmitting meansvbeing relatively laterally displaceable to compensate for anyrelativeiateral deviationof. said plunger and "reciprocable-member fromthe. line of. thrust. 4.. Operating means, fora latch mechanism of amotor-car door-having-a waistrail, comprising an operating plungerwithin an openingin. the waist rail, an open-ended housing fast. with.said waist rail and having one open end. registering with saidropeningsaid housing being. for said plunger, means: acting. between saidhousing and plungerfOr. limiting-movement of the latter. from apositionwhich: the plunger head. issubstantially; continuous with thewaist rail. when the latch-boltis in; lateheift position, to. adepressed positioninwardly of;-said. one open end of. said housing,a-reciprocable member operatively con-. nected to; said latch mechanismand substantially; aligned with; the other open end. of. said housing, alaterally-extending platformiastwith thatend of thesaidr-reciprocablemember. which is; adjacent said plunger, a-pair of parallel? laterallyspaced -rubber thrust rods interconnecting said plunger and saidplatform, said thrust rods acting-on;-saidplatformwith their linesofthrust substantially; pa-ra;llelly;on,-. opposite sides ofthe line;of;th1..ust-0i*said reciprocable member whereby, when; said plunger isdepressedindts housing said thrust rodsdeliver a 'balancedthrust to-saidrecipropableygmembeig to -mov.e -.said latch-bolt to the nonelatched=pition, an edeeoi said opening Whfin :saidr-hlung s; thus-depressedproviding a hand-hold bx-the useofwhich the door. canbe opened; and;theilateral resiliency of saicLthrust rods; permitting @the n to; be.deflected from. the trai ht h n: fi da. ehm a dreciprocabl member; arenot; strictlyaligned.

- ORR).

References.- Cited in... the .file. or; this; patentUNJITED.1STA2EES..BA'I'ENTS;

Number Name-- Date- 13323303" Wilson- Aug; 23,1932 1917:9541 agn. Oct.22, 193.5 2,240,400 Johnson-L i A pn 29;" 194.1

2,258,331 Watts OCR 14; 1941 w nner- "New 8; 1949

